We started our Seoul vacation during the tail end of spring, with temperatures expected to move up into the mid-twenties. But when we landed, a cold front had drifted into the city and the temperature that night dipped below 20°C.
Depending on where you’re from, that might mean t-shirts and shorts. But arriving from hot and sunny Singapore, it was windbreaker weather for us. After checking into our hotel in Hongdae and dumping our luggage, we headed out for dinner.
The itinerary I planned included meals at numerous Korean restaurants, many of them featuring spicy dishes like agujjim and jjukkumi. To prepare our stomachs for the heavy lifting they’d be doing in the coming days, we decided to start our K-food adventure with a heartwarming bowl of pork soup.
Donsubaek had an impressive 4.5⭐/5 on Naver Maps and happened to be just down the street from our hotel. The GPS and walking directions told us that we were near the restaurant, but we had some difficulty finding the exact location.
The Wife politely stopped a nearby security guard ajusshi, pointed to her Naver Maps and asked in her best Korean: “Annyeonghaseyo. Donsubaek?” It triggered an immediate acknowledgement, followed by an arm pointing to the restaurant on the street corner.
Service was efficient and we were quickly ushered to our seats upon entering. Looking around, I would say that the diners were split 50/50 between locals and tourists, both Asian and Western.
And the locals could be broadly categorised into two groups: diners who were there for a quick bite, and those who were there for a gathering with friends. You can easily tell the difference by counting the number of soju and beer bottles ordered, and by the amount of noise made.
Since we were obviously tourists, the staff handed us English and Chinese menus. They were well-worn and dog-eared, with prices hastily scratched out and amended multiple times with a black marker pen.
The ink unfortunately didn’t stick well and it wasn’t entirely clear what the current prices were. So, to be safe, we used the plastic-encased Korean menu displayed on the table, and Papago’ed it to English.
We placed our order for the Donsubaek set, translated to “hundreds of money”, a wonderfully auspicious name. At ₩12,000 per person, it included pork soup, boiled pork, noodles, rice, vegetables which doubled up as wrappers for the pork and, of course, various banchan.
Judging from the numerous autographed photos of famous celebrities hanging on the wall, it was clearly a popular eatery. Given its proximity to Hongdae and the fact that it’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it must be where many people grab a bite after a heavy night of drinking and clubbing.
There was a sign written in hangul pasted on the wall, highlighting what must have been the restaurant’s motto. This time, Papago translated Donsubaek to “Don’t drink beer”, which I’m sure is totally _not_ what the restaurant wants its customers to do.
In true Korean pali pali style, dishes were served almost as soon as we finished ordering. This included three difference sauces (samjang, doenjang and ganjang), raw green chillis, kimchi (cabbage and radish), spicy chives, lettuce leaves, noodles and rice.
Additionally, we each got individual earthen bowls of boiling hot pork soup, and shared a plate of sliced boiled pork, kept warm throughout the meal by a small flame underneath. Even though it was a simple meal, it looked quite impressive when everything was laid out together.
Despite its milky appearance, the pork soup tasted quite bland. Similar to seolleongtang, boiled down from ox bones, it came unseasoned so that diners could add salt and spicy chives to taste.
After a few tasting/seasoning iterations, I finally got it to taste mashisoyo. It was surprisingly clean tasting and didn’t taste porky at all. Likewise for the slices of pork floating in the soup.
Once I finished one-third of the bowl, I dumped in the rice noodles and made noodle soup. And after all the strands were slurped up, I mixed in spoonfuls of rice to make gukbap, literally “soup with rice”.
In between slurps of the soup, we made bossam with the pork slices by topping them with kimchi and wrapping them in the lettuce leaves to create one-bite mouthfuls. The pork slices came from different parts of the animal, and it was fun experiencing the different textures.
It wasn’t the fanciest of meals, and it definitely wasn’t the best that we had over the course of our trip, but it was the right food at the right time.
After a six plus hour flight, even if it was in Singapore Airlines Business class, and faced with an unexpected drop in temperature, a comforting and piping hot bowl of pork soup really hit the spot.
Seoul Spring 2023
Trip planning: Hansik, sijang and hanok (Seoul Spring 2023)
Our flights are booked, hotel rooms are reserved and all that’s left is to count down to the day that we finally take to the skies again.
Up in the air again with Singapore Airlines in Business class
For our very first post-pandemic flight, we redeemed 208,000 KrisFlyer miles for a pair of Business class return tickets to Seoul.
Ryse Hotel is right in the heart of bustling Hongdae
During our previous trips to Seoul, we stayed in Myeongdong, Dongdaemun and City Hall. This time, I decided to try a new neighbourhood in the Western part of Seoul.
Masan Seafood and their ugly delicious agujjim
Monkfish may possibly be the ugliest fish in the world, but it also happens to be one of the most delicious.
A relaxing afternoon interlude at Tteuran Teahouse in Ikseondong
As you step through the heavy wooden doors, you can’t help but feel a sense of serenity sweep over your entire body.
For jeongmal delizioso Korean fusion food, head to Banjoo Iksun
Beautifully browned potato dumplings and generous chunks of smoky bacon floated on a pool of vibrantly green perilla leaf cream.
Traditional Korean rice cakes and pour over coffee for breakfast
Rice is a staple in many Asian countries. Besides being the main source of carbohydrates, it’s also used to make different types of sweets.
Lotus Lantern Festival at Gwanghwamun Square
The lantern displays were just one component of the week-long festival leading up to the Buddha’s birthday celebration, a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Baek Nyeon Baekse just took the top spot in our samgyetang shortlist
Samgyetang, or ginseng chicken soup, is easily one of our favourite Korean dishes. It’s great on cold, rainy days and even better when we’re feeling under the weather.
When Korean executives need a quick meal, Hanilkwan is where they go
Bibimbap is a dish that requires audience participation, and it’s always fun to mix all the ingredients into a beautiful mess.
Strawberry tea and desserts at bright and breezy Mil Toast
The Wife went with a hot Strawberry Tea, not knowing exactly what to expect but confident that it was a good choice. South Korea was, after all, famous for their high quality strawberries.
Watching the Lotus Lantern Parade from our seats at Jongno 3-ga
You know that an event is a huge deal when a 3km stretch of road, right in the heart of a major city, is shut down for several hours on a busy Saturday night.
Bus ride to Mangwon Market for our Korean street food fix
Dessert was in the form of spicy eomuk skewers, from the very first stall we saw when entering the market. Just look at that fiery and luscious sauce!
The hanjeongsik at Hangaram was easily our best meal in Seoul
Despite being mentally prepared for the large number of incoming items, when the food started arriving, we were hopelessly overwhelmed by the non-stop cascade of dishes.
Mall hopping at The Hyundai Seoul and Starfield Coex
Given a choice between hiking up a mountain or wandering around an airconditioned mall, I choose the latter. Any time of the day, any day of the week, any week of the year.
Jeon and makgeolli at John Makgeolliano in Yeonnamdong
One mission of our recent vacation in Seoul was to drink as much makgeolli as possible. And since jeon is the perfect accompaniment to makgeolli, we found an interesting place to have both.
Wandering the jinjja yeppeuda alleys of Ikseondong Hanok Village
Of all the neighbourhoods we’ve been to in Seoul, Ikseondong is the prettiest by far. Here are five memorable places that we visited.
There’s a reason why Myeongdong Kyoja is so popular
After mixing everything into a beautiful mess and taking in a big mouthful, the first thing that hit me was a pleasant nuttiness, followed by deep umami. The noodles were firm and chewy, releasing flavour with every bite.
From now on, Novotel Dongdaemun is where we’ll stay in Seoul
Five months before check-in, I booked a 53sqm Residence Deluxe Room on a fully flexible rate. Our four night stay in May had an average daily rate of ₩256,000.
The Wife walked into Pleats Mama and almost didn’t make it out
I could tell that she was very pleased with her purchases, and I was pleased that she was pleased.
The complete Hanwoo K-BBQ experience at Majang Meat Market
Our 422g platter with four different cuts of Grade 1++(9) Korean beef cost ₩71,000 at the butcher’s shop. The total bill after adding the table charge, drinks and transport came up to only ₩89,800.
Buying African beans from Blue Bottle Coffee in Samcheongdong
A wide selection was on display, together with their origins, tasting notes and prices. They were sold in unusually large 300gm bags, with blends going for ₩25,000 and single-origins for ₩35,000.
Our very first taste of ganjang gejang, courtesy of Keun Giwajip
I found out the hard way that ganjang gejang is an acquired taste. One that, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to acquire.
Strolling down Gyeongdong Market for a truly local sijang experience
One thing we like to do when visiting a foreign city is to explore grocery stores and traditional markets. It gives us a chance to glimpse into the lives of people going about their day-to-day activities.
The tragic fate of the jjukkumi at Najeongsun Halmae
Somewhere in the Yongdu-dong neighbourhood, within the Dongdaemun-gu district, a brass octopus stands at attention, solemnly saluting all who walk past.
Jeolla-do grilled eel two ways at Songgang Freshwater Eel
In South Korea, jang-eo (장어) is considered a health food that boosts energy, and is especially popular during the hot summer months.
Shopping for souvenirs at Emart Cheonggyecheon
Grocery shopping is probably not on the minds of most tourists. But coming from a non-agricultural country like Singapore, the opportunity to bring home fresh, tasty and cheap produce was simply too good to miss.
Last minute dash for Goraesa Eomuk just before boarding our flight
The Wife had a look in her eyes that hinted that she was thinking about buying one of everything. But she managed to restrain her impulses and only picked out three pieces.
Our 10 day Seoul itinerary and how much we spent
We spent a total of ₩5,450,000 for our entire trip. Here’s the cost breakdown by flight, hotel, food & drink, shopping, transport and other travel-related expenses.
And just like that, The Wife turned into a kkaennip addict
I can still remember the precise moment that it happened. We were having dinner at Hanilkwan and one of our banchan was a simple salad of shredded cabbage and kkaennip, tossed in a light vinaigrette.
StarHub Giga data roaming works like a charm
We used gigaRoam in Seoul and had no issues with mobile data access throughout our entire trip. It was easy to buy, seamless to activate and convenient to extend, making it the default choice for our future travels.
Lotte Mart Seoul Station is a Korean snack food paradise
Our extensive haul only lasted us a few weeks. We could have stretched it out a bit longer, but when faced with a convenient stockpile of addictive Korean snacks, the first thing that goes out the window is self-control.
